


Love Will Turn You Around

by TMar



Category: Star Trek: The Next Generation
Genre: Bodyswap, F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-12-18
Updated: 2018-12-18
Packaged: 2019-09-22 08:05:06
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,432
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17056010
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TMar/pseuds/TMar
Summary: Kind of the TNG version of "Turnabout Intruder", only with Picard and Crusher - and a happy ending. Of course.





	Love Will Turn You Around

**Author's Note:**

> I wrote this in 1992 while the show was still on.

LOVE WILL TURN YOU AROUND

"Doctor, can you scan anything on that side?" Captain Jean-Luc Picard was  
asking his Chief Medical Officer.

"Negative, Captain. Proceeding further into this vault."

"Be careful, Doctor."

"Always, Captain. Crusher out."

Picard proceeded to scan his own section, wondering what they were looking  
for. The planet they were on certainly didn't seem hazardous at first glance,  
but the crew of the Enterprise knew that appearances could be deceiving.  
Still, it was a wonderful archaeological find. They seemed to have found the  
home planet of one of those races which had seeded people throughout the  
galaxy. From scans, they already knew that it was not the Preservers, but  
perhaps it was Sargon's race, or one of the other powerful races that the  
Federation had encountered in the last three hundred years.

At any rate, everything on the planet was in a remarkable state of  
preservation, which meant that they would be able to get a good idea of the  
people who had once lived on the planet. Picard had just about had to tie  
Riker up in order to get to beam down, but his excitement had gotten the  
better of him. Thus, he was in one of a variety of tunnels, scanning what  
seemed like alien pictures and being totally fascinated.

Worf was also scanning, but he was, of course, scanning for anything that  
could be dangerous to any future Away Teams or science parties who came here.

 

Doctor Crusher had found a large vault containing what seemed to be alien  
remains, and she was conducting various medical tests on them. As she turned  
each corner in the vault, she saw something new.

The final corner led her to a wall containing crevices, in which were a lot  
of globes. "Captain, I think I have the answer."

"Yes, Doctor?"

"There are a lot of globes here, arranged as they were, I believe, on the  
planet where the Federation first contacted Sargon."

"The same technology?"

"I think so."

"Is there light emanating from any of the globes?"

"Negative. All dark."

Jean-Luc Picard was disappointed. The chance to actually talk to and  
interact with one of those beings would have been one in a billion or so.

"Pity. All right, Doctor, lets rendezvous at a central point. We can take  
sensor readings on the way."

"See the green indicator showing the equipment complex?"

"Yes."

"Each of these tunnels has another branching off in that direction."

"One hour, Doctor."

In an hour, Worf, Geordi and Crusher converged on the central tunnel, which  
they had not been in before. The set-up was something like that of the  
engineering deck: a central point from which things could be run, and a  
place with access from the rest of the complex. As Geordi pointed this out,  
Worf scanned the equipment. "Captain!"

Picard walked over. "Yes, Mr. Worf?"

"Some of this equipment is still functioning."

One could not discern this through any outward display, but some of the  
equipment showed definite energy readings emanating from it. "Can you pick  
this up, Mr. Data?" Picard said into his communicator.

"Yes, Sir. I would not recommend touching anything. In a deserted complex  
like this where everything is off except certain equipment, I would suspect  
defence."

"If we touch something the alien defence network will go into action?"

"That is correct."

Riker broke in with, "Captain, please be careful."

The captain gave his Away Team a look that said Riker was a mother hen, and  
turned away. "Very well, Number One."

His smile soon turned to a look of alarm when Worf shouted, "Captain!"

They would not figure out until much later that standing at certain points  
in the room set off body heat sensors linked to the functioning equipment.  
Picard and Crusher had been standing at almost the exact same spots at  
opposite ends of the room while scanning, and both were hit by some sort of  
charge. All Worf saw was a kind of purple flash, and then both the captain  
and the doctor were lying on the floor.

"Emergency! Beam us up now!" shouted Worf.

Before Geordi could even look around to see what had occurred, they  
materialised on the Enterprise.

"Ideas, gentleman?" asked Riker.

Geordi shrugged. "I don't know, Commander. If I could take another Away Team  
down there and do some detailed scans, perhaps we would know what happened.  
But..."

"Worf won't sanction it because it isn't safe."

"Yup." He sighed. "It doesn't seem as if they've been seriously hurt. Doctor  
Hill said they're both just unconscious. If that's all that happens, I think  
we can perhaps risk sending another Away team."

"Perhaps," agreed Riker. "Tell you what. We'll wait until they regain  
consciousness, and if they ARE fine, you can take your best engineers and  
scan all you like. Okay?"

"Right," said Geordi.

Picard awoke slowly. He felt fine, except... there was something wrong  
somewhere. He wasn't sure what, but he knew. He lifted a hand to rub his  
face, and... it didn't feel like his face. He snatched the hand away and  
looked at it. It was an elegant hand... and a female one.

Picard sat bolt upright. He looked down at himself. Sure enough, his body  
looked different. It looked female. Not only that, but it was wearing a  
medical uniform. And his head felt... well, covered. He grabbed a handful of  
hair and looked at it. Red.

Suddenly, he realised what had happened. He wondered if Beverly Crusher  
would appreciate the irony of it all. He was about to go into the next room  
to find Beverly when a nurse came up and started running a scanner over him.  
"Good, you're awake. You seem fine, Doctor... but you'll probably want to  
check yourself over just in case."

Picard's throat (or, he thought, Beverly's throat) seized up, and he  
couldn't get a word out. Rather, he didn't want to. But he forced himself to  
open Beverly's mouth and to speak to the nurse. "Ah... no, that's all  
right." Oh, boy, I sound like her too.

He edged himself off the bed, looking all the time at the different body  
shape and legs, and onto the floor. He walked into the next room to find his  
own body (it just HAD to be Beverly in there!) lying on a diagnostic bed,  
still out cold.

He bent over her (?) and whispered, "Beverly?"

She opened his eyes, and got the fright of her life. Sat bolt upright and  
said, "What's going on?"

Trying not to squirm at the way she was looking at him, as well as trying  
not to stare at his own body, Picard said, "The alien equipment had to have  
been responsible."

"Yes!" agreed Beverly. "If you remember, Jean-Luc, Sargon's people had the  
technology to perform complete mind transfer. It couldn't have been that  
hard for them to rig a defence system - if that's what it is - to disorient  
and confuse anyone who gained entry illegally."

"What are we going to do?" mused Picard.

"Tell everyone, I guess," was the doctor's responsible reply. But to her  
astonishment, Picard shook his head (including the gorgeous red hair) and  
said, "No!"

"Jean-Luc --"

"No! I can't let them see me like this... I've had problems many times: the  
Borg incident, the Tyken's Rift Anomaly... but I was always me. Now I am  
not."

"This is no time to worry about your dignity, Jean-Luc!"

But the captain remained firm. "No. Dignity or not, I will not do it."

"Well, I hope you know something about medicine, because I sure don't know  
anything about running a starship."

They stared at each other for a long while, each refusing to give way, when  
Riker walked in.

Will Riker strode right up to the person he thought was Captain Picard and  
addressed her... him... "Captain, glad to see you're all right."

Picard opened his mouth, realised who he was supposed to be, and shut it  
again. Beverly said, "Thank you... Number One."

"Captain, I know you're keen to get the planet properly surveyed, but we've  
just received a priority signal to divert to Tarsus IV to pick up some  
diplomats."

"Are we sure that everything is all right on the planet?" asked Picard,  
wondering if it was in character for the chief medical officer.

"Doctor Hill says you're both fine; the mechanism could just be a simple  
stunning device."

Picard looked at Beverly. Finally he nodded, and Beverly said, "Then we'll  
go to Tarsus IV. Oh, Number One?"

"Sir?"

"Where are we taking these diplomats?"

"Conference on the new developments on Romulus. It's on Earth in two weeks."

"Very well. I'll... I'll be on the bridge in a while."

"Yes, Sir." Riker went out.

Picard turned to Beverly. "What --"

"I have to go to the bridge, Jean-Luc. To the crew, I'm the captain.  
Unless..."

But Picard, for some reason he could NOT explain, did not want to go that  
route. "No. You go to the bridge; I'll stay here."

"All right, Jean-Luc."

Beverly Crusher felt extremely uncomfortable in the captain's chair. She had  
no idea what to say or do, and as for working on the captain's computer  
terminal in his Ready Room... she just avoided it.

Picard felt just as uncomfortable in Crusher's office. Twice, crew members  
came to him with problems, and he called Selar to come and attend to them.  
He didn't do any paperwork either, and eventually became very, very bored.  
He supposed he should go to Beverly's quarters and rest, but then he  
realised that there was a log to be done, both professional and personal. He  
accessed the medical one first and mentioned the two crew members that Selar  
had treated. Then he accessed the personal log. He was about to start  
dictating when something in him made him access the logs for the previous  
week. He told himself that it was merely so that he could say something  
convincingly Beverly-like, but in his heart he knew why he was doing it.

The first three logs for the week were uneventful: Beverly noted receiving  
communications from her son, dinner with Deanna, friends in Ten Forward...  
The fourth log surprised him, though.

"Personal log. I wish that Jean-Luc wouldn't be so damn stubborn! At times I  
get so frustrated. I am comfortable with our relationship the way it is,  
but... at times I can see he needs me more than he'll admit, and then I need  
him too. It's only at times like this that I wonder why I rejoined this ship.  
I've always loved him, I guess..." She sighed in resignation.

The other logs were boring again, but Picard hardly heard them. He was too  
busy turning Beverly's words over in his mind. He wondered if perhaps he was  
avoiding beginning a different kind of relationship because he was  
frightened of needing someone the way Beverly seemed to know he needed her.  
Probably.

On the bridge, Beverly was informed that they had arrived at Tarsus and so  
she gave permission for the diplomats to beam aboard. Once they were aboard,  
they could continue on to Earth. Standing in Picard's dress uniform and  
feeling extremely silly, Beverly welcomed everyone, and was startled to see  
that someone she'd once known back home was on board. She started to frown  
in recognition... then she remembered who she was supposed to be. Politely  
introducing herself, she gave orders to resume the mission, and rushed off  
to Sickbay.

Picard was scanning someone using the medical tricorder, but he looked  
perplexed at the readings. "Doctor, could I speak with you for a moment?"  
Beverly asked, thinking how ridiculous the whole situation was.

Picard handed her the tricorder. "Minor muscles pulled," said the doctor  
when she looked at the readings. Then she handed him the appropriate  
instrument and told him what to do with it. Picard was about to leave when  
Beverly stopped him. "Jean-Luc, an old acquaintance of mine is on board. We  
were... we knew each other many years ago. We didn't keep in touch, but  
he'll probably be along to see me, I mean you. His name is David Arnold."

"What?" said Picard, but Beverly was already out of the door. Sighing, and  
wishing that he'd confessed, Picard went back to attend to the patient with  
the pulled muscles.

True to form, Professor Arnold did come to see the person he thought was  
Beverly Crusher. "Beverly." He kissed Picard's hand and Picard, not knowing  
what kinds of feelings Beverly had for this man, forced what he hoped was a  
gracious smile.

"David."

"So, how have you been?"

"Uh, fine. You?" "Well, you know me. My fourth wife just left me."

Picard gulped. "Fourth wife?" The man looked about 40, not older. Fourth  
wife already?

"Oh, I must have told you, Beverly. Sharon divorced me to go colonise some  
damn planet clear across the galaxy."

"Oh, uh, yes. I remember." Picard wondered how long this conversation would  
go on. But David showed no signs of slowing down.

"And, anyway, Leesa - that's her name - left last week. Haven't seen her  
since."

"What?" Picard was patently aware of how often he used that word.

"Oh, she'll be back. She's a free spirit... but then so am I." He put his  
arms around Picard's waist. "Why didn't I marry you all those years ago?"

The captain struggled out of this man's grasp. "I'm sure I don't know."

"Oh, I do. You gave me that long story about loving Jean-Luc Picard and not  
me. So off I go and marry - what was her name again? Bobbi? - and the next  
thing I know, you've upped and married Jack Crusher. I never did find out  
what happened between you and this Jean-Luc."

Picard decided to ignore the last statement. "I loved Jack." Picard felt  
comfortable saying it, for he knew that Beverly had indeed loved his best  
friend very, very much.

"Well, I didn't know him. But I have met your son."

"And?" Picard prompted. He felt that this man was definitely leading up to  
something.

"And he's a lot like you."

Picard said nothing to that, because he'd never particularly thought that  
Wesley was anything like Beverly. But then, Wesley was not much like Jack,  
either. It was food for thought, decided the captain.

But his thoughts were interrupted. "Shall we have this dance?" The man  
leaned forward as if to take Picard in his arms. "Don't tell me you're no  
longer the Dancing Doctor."

"Uh..." was all Picard could get out before Beverly walked in.

At her look, he realised that perhaps they were not "old" friends after all.  
She looked more as if she loathed the man. David was saying, "Ah, Captain  
Picard... Jean-Luc..." He stressed the latter and shot who he thought was  
Beverly a meaningful look. "Your doctor and I were having a little... chat."

"Really," answered the doctor, sounding just a little peeved.

"But... uh..." David saw the look on the face he saw as Captain Picard's,  
"I'll leave you in peace now."

After he was out, Picard turned to Beverly. "What was that about?"

"The man's a letch, Jean-Luc. Always has his hands over the women. I'll bet  
he's on his third wife already."

"Fourth," said Picard, smiling, and he wondered if he should mention what  
Professor Arnold had said earlier. It had certainly been a shock to his  
system when David had cited the reason for Beverly not having married him...

"Just don't let him get near you," smiled Beverly. "After all, he'll be on  
board for at least another week."

"What speed are we at now?" he asked, not accustomed to not knowing that  
kind of thing.

"Warp 7, I think."

You think? Picard thought, but did not say. "Increase to Warp 8, then. It'll  
cut three days off the journey."

"Good idea," responded Beverly. "Then we can get back to the planet that did  
this to us."

Picard did try to stay away from the esteemed professor, but it was quite  
difficult - the man made a point of bothering him and asking him questions  
he had no right asking.

He always managed to get away, until one day the man cornered him in Sickbay.  
"Come, come, Beverly, just one little dance."

"Why?"

"Why not? You've always been too sexy to stay away from."

This infuriated Picard so much that before he even realised it, the captain  
reached out and decked the man.

David lay on the floor, looking totally stunned. He knew Beverly Crusher as  
a calm, rational person. She could get angry - and she'd slapped him more  
than once - but she'd never decked him before. He couldn't know that inside  
the package was a very infuriated Jean-Luc Picard, who now said, "I would  
appreciate it if you left me alone from now on."

Saying nothing, David Arnold left.

But Picard was frightened of what he'd done. I'm in a female body, he  
thought, but I am still myself. It was then that Picard realised that  
Beverly had been right: explain to the crew. They would know who was in  
there. But it was too late now. People would wonder why nothing had been  
said before. It's only three more days to Earth, then we can go back and  
continue our work. And maybe Beverly and I can solve this. I need to be  
myself on the outside again.

Beverly Crusher, too, was having a hard time. More that once she'd noticed  
Riker looking at her strangely when she gave an order. She suspected that  
Riker probably thought that the captain was either sick or had been taken  
over by an alien intelligence. Neither was the case, but Beverly's nerves  
were shot.

A day before they reached Earth, she rushed into her quarters just after  
Picard's duty shift ended. Jean-Luc was lying on her bed, reading. He looked  
up, surprised to see her. "Beverly?" He got up. "What's the matter?"

"I can't do it anymore, Jean-Luc! I can't! I'm not you. I can't be you, and  
they know it's not you. I'm scared. I miss my staff, and I miss YOU. What's  
going to happen if we can't reverse this process?"

Picard reluctantly put his arms around Beverly. He had always restrained  
himself around her, scared of the feelings she brought on. Now he had even  
more reason to be concerned. He didn't want those feelings now, not while he  
wasn't himself. But she was crying (Is that what I look like when I'm upset?  
he thought), and he knew he was the only person who could understand and  
comfort her.

"Everything will be all right, Beverly," he said, but he didn't sound very  
convincing. He was trying to convince himself as well as her. Then she  
looked at him, tears still in her eyes, and caressed his cheek. Before she  
consciously knew what she was doing, Beverly's hand was in that red hair. It  
was weird because it was HER hair. `What am I doing?' asked the rational  
side of the doctor, but the irrational side, the one that had always  
betrayed Beverly where Jean-Luc was concerned, refused to stop.

Picard stood rooted to the spot, more terrified than he'd ever been in his  
life. He was sure the entire crew could hear his heart beating, so loud did  
it seem to him. "B...Beverly...Beverly, what...?" but he got nothing else  
out.

Beverly was looking at him with his own eyes. "Jean-Luc, I'm scared."

"So am I," he admitted. "This... please... go. Now."

"No."

"We... I... we can't do this."

"Why not?" Suddenly, the doctor knew that if they didn't have this one  
moment, it might never happen again. She couldn't let it go by, even if she  
was in HIS body, and he in hers.

"I... I don't know. It's wrong, like this." But Picard suddenly felt very  
different, and he didn't care that much about whether it was wrong or not.  
Is that because of what I am, now?

Beverly kissed him. Jean-Luc wasn't surprised at that, but at his reaction.  
He enjoyed that, and wanted more. He could tell that tonight was going to be  
one for new discoveries. Beverly was just realising this, too. When the kiss  
ended, she smiled at him. "Jean-Luc -- do you realise the implications of  
what we're about to do?" She sounded certain that something was definitely  
going to happen, and Picard was no longer in any state to argue. He realised  
that she had taken the initiative - again. Typical of Beverly Crusher. Male  
or female, she remained herself.

"Of course I realise the implications," he mumbled, "but I don't care. Not  
now, Beverly. I just... this is..."

"I know, Jean-Luc. It's ... weird."

"Very," Picard agreed.

"Let's do it anyway."

Taking him in her arms, she slowly walked to the bed. Letting Jean-Luc's  
body down on the soft mattress, she kissed him with a passion that had  
always been there - hiding. They were both aware that this was something  
that should have happened a long time ago. That knowledge gave them a  
glorious freedom which neither had felt for a very long time.

Beverly's hands were welcomed by Picard's body. He arched his back as she   
moved her body against him. For the first time in her life she was aware of   
the sensations that a man experiences during lovemaking. She was almost   
stunned by the strength of her feelings. Picard, too, was enveloped in an   
alien, intense ecstasy.

Feeling the contours of her own body from the outside, Beverly realised  
that they were - perhaps for the first time in their lives - truly one. Picard  
groaned softly as their unique communion blurred into an experience of lost  
identity. For a short moment, perfection was a real and palpable, blissful  
concept.

Beverly Crusher lay staring up at the ceiling that night, thinking long and  
hard about things. Mostly, she thought of how different men and women were,  
and what she was going to say to Jean-Luc when he woke up. She wondered if  
there wasn't some sort of medical paper she could write on the subject -  
anonymously, of course. A smile spread over her (well, actually the captain's)   
features when she though of a possible title - I Was A Middle-Aged Man??

Beverly was so deep in thought that she didn't see that the captain had  
woken too. He was also having much the same thoughts. But he thought more  
about Beverly - more about her made sense now, paradoxically. He decided not  
to worry about it, and went back to sleep.

When Picard awoke the next day, Beverly was gone. He assumed she had been  
called to the bridge for some decision that only the captain should be able  
to make. He was glad that they would be dropping off the diplomats so that  
they could head back and be themselves again. Being someone else, even if  
only for a short while, had been very liberating for Picard. He had learnt  
much about Beverly, but he liked being himself.

Beverly was not on the bridge. Riker had buzzed the medical officer's  
quarters on a hunch, and the "captain" had been there.

"What can I do for you, Number One?" she asked when she arrived, hoping that  
she sounded like Picard. She'd practised enough.

Riker paced up and down in the Observation Lounge. Finally, he looked at her  
with concern. "Captain, are you all right?"

"I'm fine. Why?"

"You haven't been yourself. It's nothing I could prove to anyone, but you  
don't seem... like the Jean-Luc Picard I know."

Beverly wondered what to say, even though she'd known, intellectually, that  
this was coming. Finally she settled for a half-truth. "I haven't felt like  
myself since Beverly and I were knocked unconscious in that alien chamber."

"Captain, that was weeks ago! Why didn't you say anything?"

"I didn't want to worry you. It's nothing I can pinpoint, either, so I  
thought it would go away."

"You could have something very wrong with you. Aliens... anything."

Riker's concern became positively irritating - and it was worse because he  
was right! "It's not 'aliens or something', Number One. It's just a leftover  
from that charge that hit us."

"Captain, I want you to get Doctor Cr... no, Doctor Selar to check you over.  
Sir."

"All right, Will," said Beverly, knowing that Selar wouldn't find anything.  
For the hundredth time since this had happened to her, Beverly was extremely  
glad that Deanna Troi was attending some sort of Betazoid ceremony with her  
mother, and not on board to realise what was going on.

They dropped the diplomats off on Earth, and Picard even forced himself to  
be civil to Prof. David Arnold. He hadn't had time to consider the professor  
and the various things he'd said about Beverly. When it was over, Picard  
gave Beverly one significant look and she ordered them to return to where  
their problems had started, at the fastest safe cruising speed.

Neither Picard nor Beverly had spoken to each other since that night. They  
both knew that it was because they didn't know what to say. But now that  
they would have to deal with it, they knew they had better make the effort.  
Picard walked into his quarters, to find Beverly looking at herself in the  
mirror.

"You know, Jean-Luc," she said with his voice, "I always thought you were  
the sexiest man I'd ever seen. And having had the chance to BE you, I see no  
reason to change that assessment." She looked at him, and he suddenly he  
knew more than he wanted to. He knew that when she had touched him, Beverly  
had touched him where she had always wanted to be touched. And he knew that  
he'd done that, too, that somewhere his subconscious had taken over. And he  
now knew what she liked, what he liked, and what the possibilities were...

Picard strode forward. "Beverly - everything... I can't put it into words. I  
KNOW, now. In here." He put his hands over his heart.

"We'll arrive at the planet in two hours. What are you going to do?"

"We'll beam down."

"Will won't like it."

Picard sighed. "Then we won't tell him."

Beverly smiled. "And how shall we spend the remaining two hours?"

She lifted her hand to touch him, and Picard stepped back. "No."

"No?"

"Once was... very new and beautiful. Twice might be once too many."

"Then... what about when we're ourselves again?" Beverly didn't want it to  
end, and she knew that the real Picard, deep inside, couldn't want it to end  
either.

"I'll still want you," Picard replied, and Beverly breathed a sigh of relief.

 

"But you don't want me now?" she asked.

"I just don't think it would be a good idea."

"All right. Meet me in transporter room three in an hour and a half."

Since transporter room three wasn't scheduled to be used, no one was on duty  
there. Beverly was the first to arrive, having left the bridge on the  
pretext of needing something for a headache. Picard had had to sneak out of  
Sickbay.

When the ship assumed orbit, Picard set the co-ordinates to beam down, and  
Beverly got on the platform. "Aren't we going to tell Will at all?"

"No."

"So..."

Picard set the controls, and they dematerialised.

They materialised in the central room where they had previously been knocked  
out. "What happened last time?"

"The machinery was on, but there was nothing to indicate it."

Picard scanned the consoles. "Hmm... yes. Do you remember where we were  
standing?"

"We were on opposite sides of the room... I was about here." And Beverly  
stepped to where she'd last stood. "And you were there," she said, pointing.  
Picard stepped to the right place.

And Riker and Worf materialised. "Captain, what are you doing?"

"Don't interfere, Number One!" shouted Picard and Beverly together. Riker  
strode forward, to pull who he thought was Picard away, and the purple flash  
hit both Picard and Beverly.

When Picard came to, he was lying on a biobed in Sickbay. Am I myself again?  
he thought, afraid to move, talk or look down. Just then, Riker walked in  
and addressed him. "Captain, how are you feeling?"

Picard smiled at him, and sat up.

"Captain?" asked the first officer again, concerned.

"I'm feeling fine, Will."

"And so am I." Both Picard and Riker turned towards the voice, and saw  
Beverly Crusher walking towards them.

"Captain, what were you two doing on the planet?"

Picard answered carefully, remembering what Beverly had told him about  
Riker's concern. "I wanted to see if there was a way for me to feel better."

"And do you?"

"Yes."

"Then why was Doctor Crusher with you?" Riker asked suspiciously.

"Moral support," she replied.

Riker gave them both a look which clearly said, 'You're lying,' but he  
didn't say a word. Doctor Hill came in then. "Doctor, how are they really?"

"Fit as fiddles, both of them," replied Dr. Hill. "In fact, you two, why  
don't you get out of here and have a rest?"

"Good idea," said Picard.

"Wonderful idea," said Beverly. They both left Sickbay, but Riker was on the  
heels of the doctor.

When she got to her quarters he asked, "Can I talk to you for a minute?"

"Sure."

"Moral support? I was worried about you. I thought it could be..."

"Aliens or anything," Beverly quoted, then stopped and turned, her face very  
red.

"I thought so," said Riker. He didn't even need to say what it was that he'd  
thought. "Doctor, please don't ever do that again."

"I don't think I'll get the chance," she answered.

And Riker went out.

Beverly didn't go to sleep that night. She waited for Jean-Luc Picard,  
captain of the Enterprise, to pay her a visit. However, after a while it  
became apparent that he wasn't going to. Probably he was already starting to  
build those barriers between them again. Not this time, my dear captain! the  
doctor thought as she stormed off to his quarters.

Picard was doing what Beverly had thought - rebuilding all the barriers that  
had come down in the weeks that they had occupied each others' bodies. The  
litany in his head replayed itself over and over. My career, her life,  
they're separate... starship captains aren't fair to women... Picard hardly  
noticed anything around him as he struggled to get things back to the way  
they had been. He didn't notice when Beverly entered his quarters, he only  
realised she was there when she stood over him and said, "Jean-Luc, I won't  
let you do it."

"Do what?' he asked, dragging himself out of his self-imposed trance.

"Put back those barriers. I know you love me. I know you want me. Stop  
denying it."

"I'm not denying it, but..."

"Jean-Luc, I know your arguments, and, quite frankly, they're stupid."  
Without saying another word, she bent and kissed the corner of his mouth.  
"They're ridiculous, and they don't apply anymore." She kissed the other  
side.

And suddenly, Jean-Luc Picard realised that she was right. My life has been  
perfect... for me. There's no reason for it not to continue being perfect...  
for both of us. He looked up at Beverly, and opened his mouth to say as much,  
but she kissed him again before he could get the words out, taking the  
initiative again.

Then she moved away and looked intently at him. "Jean-Luc, what happened  
between us those days ago was beautiful. I KNOW, now... and you do, too. I  
know what makes you FEEL. I wouldn't want to waste such knowledge."

Picard touched her, and smiled to himself when he heard her breathe in  
sharply. "Neither would I," he said, deadpan.

And Beverly remembered what it had been like knowing the other side of  
making love, and wanted to know it, with Picard, from the side she belonged  
on. "Make love to me, Jean-Luc."

"Let's do it anyway," he quoted, unsuccessfully trying to keep the smile out  
of his voice.

And this time, they touched each other in places that were exactly right,  
and Picard looked into her blue eyes and thought that he was floating in a  
deep blue sea. Beverly saw the love in his eyes, too, and knew that  
everything was right, just as she had wanted. The other time was beautiful,  
ecstatic and interesting... but this was how it should be. Both knew it and  
both were engulfed by it.

"No more barriers," whispered Beverly later as she lay in Jean-Luc's arms.

"No more barriers. I promise," he said. "I love you. I do."

"I know that," she smiled. "And I, you."

THE END


End file.
